Big Flounder continue to hit the decks of the all day boat Thelma Dale V. Tough fishing conditions and good fishing have dominated the week. Strong currents and moderate breezes made for some real tough angling this past week but the bounty that was reaped was well worth the effort! This has been my best week on big fish in the last few, weighing in several citation sized Flounder and having several other fish that have tipped the scales at over four and five pounds. Limits of four nice fish have been most common. This has not been a week where the fish committed suicide however. There were times when anglers had to press as much as 24 ounces of lead on the rig just to stay in touch with the bottom! Novices needed a lot of coaching from the crew and a little luck didn’t hurt either. Most of the week 10 or 12 ounces of lead was the bare minimum.

Early last week was by far the best and as the week progressed an Easterly flow of winds and swells began to take its toll on the ocean. It became increasingly harder to hold the bottom as drifts and currents became a little too fast. Friday was a great day much to my surprise but the weekend was a bust. It seemed as though the fish had just quit biting. Possibly due to the large swells or perhaps they knew it was a weekend. We had been seeing as many as 40 to 50 keepers per trip most of the week but Saturdays trip we barely had twenty, and on both Sunday and Monday we struggled just to get into double digits of keeper Flatfish. Talk about your weekend sting.

I am happy to report that today (aug.2nd) the fish started to cooperate again and we once again saw limits of Fluke around the boat. They weren’t all big and there were an awful lot of throwbacks mixed in, but they were biting! This almost assures that these fish just weren’t biting too well for a few days. This is a condition that we have seen all to many times while fishing for these deepwater Fluke. Sea Bass fishing continues to be a disappointment for us, however we do see some Bass on each trip. When the Flounder weren’t biting over the weekend those that tried for the Bass did catch a few however most were small.

For those that want the instant action and the chance for a cooler full of fish, Croaker fishing in the Delaware Bay continues to be the way to go with plenty of Croaks reaching up to 16 and 18 inches long. Capt. Mike on the Half-Day boat Keen Lady IV has reported good to excellent action on almost every trip. Naturally the weather played somewhat of a role on a few of the trips over this past week but for the most part these voyages have been a big success. Anglers are reminded that if you desire to fish more than one half-day trip in the same day you can go for the same fare as the all-day trips. Quite a few anglers have been picking this option in hopes that if they don’t get enough on the first trip, or the fish don’t cooperate, they may on the next.

I will continue to fish for the Flounder and Sea Bass with the all-day trips and our half-day boat will concentrate on fishing for Croaker. I am sure it is just a matter of time before we start to see some of these Croakers mixed in with the catch on the all-day trips but for now it is mainly Fluke and Bass.

Summer is zipping by us now. In the blink of an eye we have logged yet another month. It seems like July 4th was just here and now Labor Day is knocking on the door. The fishing is good and the weather has been awesome It’s time to go!

If you would like more information about trips sailing out of the Wharf or you need to make a reservation for one of the upcoming Tuna Chunking trips please give us a call at (302) 645-TUNA.

Until Next Week Happy Fishing!

Capt. Rick Yakimowicz

Thelma Dale V

Catchfish@verizon.net